A list of eight council-owned
assets for disposal will be discussed at theCabinetmeeting on Thursday 27 April.

Councillors will be asked to
vote to proceed in principle with the sale of the following assets:

Land at Phase 2 - Eurokent Business Park

Phase 1 – Eurokent Business Park

Land adjacent to 2 Park Place, Margate

Land at Eastern Entrance to Northdown Park,
Margate.

Land at Hengist Road, Minnis Bay, Birchington

Northdown Garages and Store

Palm Bay Coach Park

Quarterdeck, Zion Place, Margate

The council recognises that
two of the assets listed are leased to third parties to provide services for
community groups:

The land adjacent to Northdown Park is
maintained by Margate Garden Gate Project which works with adults with
learning disabilities or mental health issues.

The Quarterdeck is home to the Thanet Youth Hub
and leased by KCC.

It should be noted
that any existing tenants or licensees have the protection of the terms of
their tenancy or licence agreements.

Consultation periodIf the decision is taken to
go ahead with the sale of these assets, there will be a three-week consultation
period when local ward councillors can give their views on the proposals.
Members of the public can also present their views to their ward councillors
during this time. Not all assets listed may be disposed of during 2017.

Tim Howes, Director of
Corporate Governance, said:“TDC owns around 750 assets
in the form of land and buildings throughout the district. This needs
significant management and budgetary commitment which has to be balanced
against the benefits they provide to the community.”

“Monies raised through the
sale of council-owned assets will help fund important capital projects. This is
part of the council’s medium-term financial strategy, 2016-2020.”

“In most cases, sales will be
through open auction which gives the greatest potential to meet our legal
obligation to achieve the best possible price.”

Notes to Editors

Asset
Disposal Strategy

The
recommendation by officers to sell these properties is part of the council’s
asset disposal strategy which was agreed by Cabinet in 2016. This is playing a
key role in reducing the amount of council-owned property in the district and
protecting assets that would otherwise fall into disrepair.

In disposing
of unwanted TDC assets, the council is following the practice of other local
authorities and so far this has been successful with sales totalling £964,000.

Over the next
two years, there will be further sales of council-owned assets and in all cases
the final decision to sell any type of property will be subject to cabinet
approval.

The council
carried out a detailed review of the benefits of continued ownership of assets
across the district to help ensure that asset sales benefit both the authority
and Thanet taxpayers. This review demonstrated that some types of property or
land would be suitable for sale into private ownership, while others would be
suitable for the council to let as a corporate landlord.

The sale of
unwanted council-owned property is now part of the council’s asset management
strategy to reduce costs and generate additional income. This in turn can be
used to fund improvements to other buildings and assets across the district
through the council’s capital programme. This approach is built into the
council’s medium term financial strategy, 2016-2020.

Monies raised
through previous sales:

10 Market Street, Margate - Sold
for £180,000 at auction in February 2017

Land at Duke Street, Margate -
Sold for £270,000 at auction in February 2017

Newgate Gap store, Margate -
Sold for £99,000 at auction in February 2017

Dane Valley Enterprise Units in
St Peter's, Broadstairs - Sold for £415,000 at auction in March 2017

When disposing
of publically-owned assets the council is required by law to achieve the best
price reasonably obtainable. A public auction is generally the most appropriate
way to achieve this from those who are competing to purchase the asset and this
method of disposal gives everyone the opportunity to bid.

2 comments:

Michael, the dedication plaque has never been replaced on the wall of the boating pool,with non scrap value material, and I'm sure you know the plaque at the East Cliff chine has never been replaced. TDC saying that they don't have the correct inscription, but I and others have provided TDC with photo's of the plaques. We are still waiting!

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Here are the links to the pictures of Ramsgate carnival 201 on my camera card http://michaelsbookshop.com/717/id10.htm http://mi...

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